Take a deep breath. It’s time to prepare for a weekend, that is about to blow your mind. The second FMB Diamond Series Event is casting its shadow! The best FMB athletes will be stopping by at Crankworx Les Gets in order to get the crowd’s adrenaline pumping and to crown themselves in the French Alps. All big names riding for the title in the Diamond Series this year such as Nicholi Rogatkin (USA), Thomas Genon (BEL), Tomas Lemoine (FRA) and maybe even Brett Rheeder (CAN), who broke his foot a couple of weeks back, will be battling it out on French soil on Saturday June 18th. Do not miss out on all the live action: watch the FMB Diamond Series from Les Gets, live on
Red Bull TV and
fmbworldtour.com. However the weather is playing up, so be sure to keep a close eye on fmbworldtour.com and
Facebook in case there are schedule changes. The planned broadcasting time for the moment is 4.30pm CEST / 7.30am PDT.
Les Gets is situated close to the Swiss border and only 50km/31mi from Geneva in the rugged, mountainous landscape of the French Alps. The favorable destination has been the setting of many legendary mountain bike competitions, such as World Cups, World Championships and French national titles. This year however the FMB World Tour makes its first appearance, on a brand new slopestyle course. “We are really looking forward to this event. It will feel so good to ride in front of a French crowd. The course is brand new, but I think it is going to be good. I’m really motivated”, explains an excited Tomas Lemoine. A Highlight of this year’s course is certainly the step-up-wallride-step-down combination in the dirt section of the course, which the young Frenchman is looking forward to: “I don’t know the course that well yet, but I saw a pancake… the wallride looks like a pancake! I think that could be fun, it looks really sick.”
The situation in the Diamond Series rankings has changed somewhat due to the amount of European Gold Events, which have already taken place. Nicholi Rogatkin still leads the pack thanks to his second place in Rotorua and his impressive appearance at Swatch Rocket Air in Thun, Switzerland. However the reigning Diamond Series Champion Thomas Genon is in close behind the 22-year-old American. After winning the FMB Gold Event at FISE Montpellier, the young Belgian can concentrate fully on turning up the heat in pursuit his second consecutive Diamond Series title. Tomas Lemoine will be highly motivated in front of a home crowd. He is looking to best his eighth place at Crankworx Rotorua in order to make a push into the top 3 of the Diamond Series Ranking. Therefore however he will have to beat the 20-year-old, third ranked Swede Max Fredriksson.
Two runs will decide, which of the best riders in the world will be cracking the champagne or if maybe one of the 2 FMB wildcard winners in the line-up can create the “upset”. The young Italian Diego Caverzasi and the experienced BMX-legend and slopestyle “newbie” Ryan Nyquist both earned the right to drop into the course at Crankworx Les Gets thanks to great performances at Swatch Rocket Air and FISE Montpellier respectively. Caverzasi recently confirmed his form last weekend at 26TRIX in Leogang, winning his first ever FMB Event. “Winning in Leogang was really important for me, because I was able to let everyone know, that I wasn’t just lucky in Thun. We will see what happens this weekend”, says Diego Caverzasi.
So, who will make the crowd go wild and convince the judges, that he should be the king of the slope? All the nerve-wracking action will be broadcasted live, so make sure you get your dose of adrenaline on Red Bull TV or fmbworldtour.com. Due to weather issues, the schedule can be changed and new times communicated.
Photos by Ale Di Lullo, Richkphotography and davidrobinsonphoto.com
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